Run to the hills: Ubisoft announced new DRM system for future PC game releases

Ubisoft has announced use of a new digital right
management (DRM) system for PC games in lieu of existing Starforce DRM. This announcement
is a good news- bad news situation—the good news is that player will be able to
install the game on unlimited number of systems and will be able to run the
game even in the absence of the game's disc. The bad news is that user will
need to be constantly connected to the Internet, to be able to play the game, even if it is in single-player mode.

This new DRM system will require the users to create an
account on UBI.com and then login using this account information to activate
the game. After the initial activation, the game will regularly contact the
authentication servers while you are playing the game. Now this is where it
gets really bad: if the game is unable to contact the servers for any reason,
the game will pause for the duration and it may even force you to restart the
game from the last checkpoint if the authentication attempt fails. In the
absence of an Internet connection, the game will be completely unplayable. In
exchange for this inconvenience, Ubisoft will spare some of its server space to
store your saved game files—similar to what Valve is offering with its Steam Cloud
system.

Ubisoft believes that this measure will curb on piracy, but historical
evidence suggests that this kind of strategy has a high probability of backfiring.
The publisher appears to be well aware of potential community backlash, as one
the question on the official FAQ reads: “Why is Ubisoft forcing their loyal
customers to sign up for a Ubisoft account when they don't want to give their
private data and only play single player games?” This PC authentication
system will make its debut with the Settlers 7 beta.

[Interesting fact: Ubisoft are European publishers for
Pirates of the Caribbean games]